


Ro's Backstory: Halfling Barbarian

by creativesunshine



Series: DND Backstories [2]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 16:24:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20660186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creativesunshine/pseuds/creativesunshine





	Ro's Backstory: Halfling Barbarian

Name(s):

Ro

Rosa Evangeline

Little Speckled Mouse

Wahuj

Height: 2ft 10 in

Weight: 46 lbs

Age: 26 years old

Left-Handed

Physical Description: Tan, ruddy skin sprinkled with freckles and light scars; Tangled, thick, auburn hair with several braids running through it; Eyes are a warm brown color with yellow flecks; Thin, white-gold, scar-like markings of eagle wings over her shoulders and back; Small “stick n poke” tattoo of a branch and the letter “A” on her right forearm 

**Part 1: The Path of the Totem Warrior**

Twenty-five years ago, a clan of Tabaxi found a halfling infant as the sole survivor of a shipwreck off the Eastern Coast. They adopted the child, naming her “Little Speckled Mouse”, or Mouse for short. Mouse grew up alongside the other Tabaxi children and earned a bit of a reputation as a scrappy fighter and daydreamer. The elders were often amused and confused by their tiny fur-less daughter, “always looking to the sky” they would complain, clucking their tongues. 

This particular Tabaxi clan had a ceremony for their young when they came of age. For hundreds of years these Tabaxi lived in harmony and reverence for the big cats native to the island. They believed they were descended from these cats and that their spirits return to them when they die. When members of the clan reach fifteen or sixteen years of age, they go on a sacred journey to pay homage to the big cats and receive wisdom and guidance from the spirits of their ancestors. 

By the time she could walk, Mouse was fascinated with the one mountain of the island, and the giant eagles that made their home in the craggy peaks. She was chastised by the adults for always asking questions about the roost of birds up there. “Eagles eat little mouses.” They would often say. “So do cats.” Mouse would retort. 

When the time came for the coming of age ceremony, she and a group of young Tabaxi left on their three-day journey to travel deep into the forest of the island, and seek out these wild cats. But on their first day of travel, Mouse again felt a pull towards the mountain. On an impulse decision of pure instinct, she broke away from the group and headed up the mountain. She struggled for five days to reach the craggy peak. When she finally reached the summit, she sat down in a shallow cave to catch her breath. 

A shadow fell over her. “Hello, Little Speckled Mouse.” Came a raspy, croaky voice, echoing throughout the cave. A giant eagle was perched at the entrance of the cave. Mouse’s mouth went dry— up close, the sharp talons and beak looked incredibly intimidating. “How do you know my name?” She finally got out. 

The eagle cackled. “We know every name of every member of the tribe. We have lived long enough to see generations upon generations of your kind live out their lives on this island. Although—’ the Eagle’s eyes glinted as they spoke ‘—they are not  _ your  _ kind, are they, Little Mouse? You are different.” They began encircling Mouse, their talons scraping along the stone ground. Mouse noticed three other eagles, perched and watching, their faces expressionless. The eagle addressing her continued “—smaller. Weaker, perhaps? Easier to prey upon.  _ Feast  _ upon.” 

Mouse flushed. “I am not weak!” She shouted angrily, and her voice echoed off the cave  _ weak!  _ _ Weak!  _ _ Weak!  _ She gripped her spear and glared fiercely at the Eagle. The Eagle seemed amused by this display. Then they suddenly straightened up and cocked their head to one side. “Why did you come here, Mouse?”

Mouse hesitated. “It was the day of the pilgrimage to seek out wisdom from the Great Ancestors, but… I feel no kinship with the big cats. I’ve always loved this mountain, I guess… I don’t know, I just thought—“

Without warning, the Eagle attacked. 

Slamming Mouse into the ground, the Eagle’s beak tore into her shoulder. “Not weak, eh?” The Eagle screeched. Mouse struggled against the talons pinning her to the ground. As the Eagle lunged for a second attack, she thrust the butt of her spear into the Eagle’s eye. With a squawk, they released her. Both of them circling the other, blows were exchanged until they were both battered and bleeding. The other birds looked on silently. 

Mouse saw an opening and lunged with her spear, but the Eagle swerved and dug their talons into Mouse’s back, slamming her into the ground. Mouse screamed as searing pain ripped through her body. The Eagle croaked again, “Why did you come here? What do you have to prove? SHOW ME!” As they scraped their talons along her back. White-hot rage filled Mouse’s head. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t see, she couldn’t breathe. She had never felt fury like this before as she screamed, forcing the Eagle off of her as she drove her spear point into their chest. 

Time froze. Panting, still clutching her spear, the anger faded from Mouse’s body as she realized in horror what she had done. “Nononononono—“ she choked out as she pressed on the Eagle’s wound, willing her tiny hands to stop the life blood from pouring out of the animal. “Child… look at me.” The Eagle gurgled, staring fiercely into Mouse’s eyes. Mouse watched in shock as those eyes faded and the body fell limp. Mouse stumbled back, and began to sob in earnest. After a few minutes, she felt feathers brush her shoulder as the other eagles flew down and landed by their fallen brethren. “Little One, why do you mourn?” One of them asked in a whispery voice. “I… I didn’t mean to… kill… I’m so— so sorry…” Mouse whimpered. They fell silent for a few minutes. Then another eagle addressed Mouse. “Do not be grieved, girl. Njol knew what she was doing when she challenged you. And she achieved her purpose— look. Her spirit lives on in you.” Mouse glanced at her shoulders where she had felt the burning pain before. She sniffed and wiped the blood from her shoulders, revealing the slashes Njol had made into her back. They had transformed into thin, white-gold lines depicting wings down her back and arms. The last eagle spoke. “You have the spirit of a Great Eagle living inside you, child. You would do well to respect it. Pay attention to your instincts, as that is the spirit of Njol guiding you.” The eagle closed their eyes. “Above all, value your freedom. A bird must not be caged.” The eagle opened their eyes again and stepped closer, craning their head to be right in front of Mouse’s face. “No longer are you Little Speckled Mouse. No longer will you be accepted by the Tabaxi. We will call you Wahuj , for this means “new birth”, but you must decide for yourself who you are.” The eagles turned to leave, two of them gently lifting the body of Njol. The one who called her Wahuj turned back, eyeing her with a grim expression. “Return to the shore, Wahuj. There will soon be a chance for you to leave the island behind. I suggest you take it.” 

**Part Two: The Journey to the Eastern Coast of Edas**

The girl that the Eagles call Wahuj and the Tabaxi called Little Speckled Mouse sat on the beach, watching the horizon. After leaving her clan to live on her own, she did this everyday, carefully scanning the seas for a way off the island. It had been a few years since her journey to the mountain, when she spotted a ship headed towards the island. The ship set anchor near shore and a rowboat of fancily clad gentlemen and one lady came ashore. The gentlemen set a blanket and large basket of food and drink out on the sand and the lady and best-dressed man sat on it and laughed and chattered while guards stood at attention nearby. The girl watched curiously from a nearby tree. She only spoke a little Common, occasionally the Tabaxi used it to describe foreign lands or artifacts. She picked out phrases like “ship”, “few days”, and “almost home”. Taking a deep breath and clutching the few belongings she had, she silently approached the humans. A startled guard aimed a crossbow at her and shouted something she didn’t understand. But the human woman looked around curiously and exclaimed “a child?” when she saw the girl. The lady said something to the guard and he lowered his weapon. She gestured the girl forward and started speaking very quickly and prettily. When she paused for breath, the halfling took her chance. “Not… child. No child.” she explained, and pulled her hair aside to show her slightly pointed ears. The woman seemed abashed when the girl quickly pointed to the ship. “Go?” and pointed to the woman, and then to herself. “go? I… go? please?” The woman squealed in delight and threw her arms around her, picking her up and kissing her cheek emphatically.  _ She possibly still believes me to be a human child _ the halfling girl thought with some embarrassment. Nearly twenty hunting seasons had passed since she had been found on this island. Nonetheless, she obligingly stayed quiet while the human people finished their picnic and made ready to board the ship again. 

On board the ship, the girl previously called Wahuj and Mouse took a deep breath and looked back towards the mountain. She wasn’t nervous, per say— she felt as though she had been preparing for this moment for two years. Still, she was leaving her whole world behind and setting out for the unknown. 

Arriving in town was very overwhelming— she had never seen so many different people, and felt shy about not speaking the language. Luckily, one of the sailors was a Tabaxi named Mat, and he kindly acted as a translator for the duration of the trip. They became friends over the few days they spent together, and one evening when they were up in the crows nest together, she asked him a lot of questions about the fancy people who were (essentially) caring for her. He hesitated, but explained to her that the lady was Princess Caitlinne and the man escorting her was Lord Ernst Hewe, her second husband. The princess had been on a voyage seeking the favor of the fertility goddess and seeking out the advice of different Wise Women on why she could not conceive. They had just given up hope when they stopped to picnic on your island. 

“Doesn’t she realize I am not human?” the halfling girl asked impatiently. “I am not a human child, despite my stature— eighty winters have passed since I arrived on that island!” 

Mat sighed. “The Princess is… fragile. She is nearly forty, and has not had a child of her own. Her mind is delicate. She is far from the throne, and yet still holds quite a bit of power over the tiny providence she was charged with.’

Suddenly Mat turned very serious. He gripped her shoulders and lowered his voice, despite the fact that they were the only two who spoke the Tabaxi language on the ship.

“Young one, be careful. Tread lightly around her. She believes you are a human child because she  _ wants _ to believe it. You must not challenge her on this. She is harmless as long as you do not question her… oddities. Her first husband was hanged for treason when he attempted to thwart one of her orders. And Erik was a good man.” Mat trailed off, seemingly lost in thought. 

Then he glanced over and smiled. 

“Want to know what she has named you?” 

“What?” 

“Rosa Evangeline.” 

“That’s too hard to say!” The girl protested. 

Mat laughed. “Maybe just the first part? Try it. Roh-ssah”

“Ro- Roh zah. Rohsa. Hmph.” 

**Part Three: Growing Up in Asmond **

Six years have passed since leaving the island. When the party first arrived in Asmond, people whispered about the strange feral child Her Highness had adopted. The Princess claimed this little girl had been granted to her by the goddess of motherhood herself. She held an elaborate christening ceremony, exact in every detail to the kind of celebration held after a member of the royal family has given birth. The halfling was given the name Rosa Evangeline and the Princess claimed her little girl was five years old on the day of the christening. 

For six years, Rosa Evangeline was tutored in the ways of Asmond society and became the pride and joy of her adopted mother for her quick wit; “such a  _ clever _ child” Caitlinne would often gush. Of course, as she aged each year, her height did not change, leading to several uncomfortable (and tearful on the Princess’s end) conversations with doctors about how to fix her daughter, who by “age ten” had not grown an inch. The physicians, well aware that Rosa Evangeline was a halfling in her mid-twenties, agreed to tell the Princess that they were stumped by this development, but other than her height, she seemed in perfect health. 

As the years dragged on, Rosa became more and more desperate to escape her situation. She felt the Great Eagle’s words echoing in her head, “ _ Above all, value your freedom. A bird must not be caged.”  _ She felt she was betraying the spirit inside her. She felt trapped, and sometimes would lash out in desperation and misery. Daily she heard courtiers whisper nasty things about “the feral thing” and how “once something grows up in the wild it can never be truly domesticated”. Children spread rumors that there was a beast living inside her, and watch out because on the full moon her eyes turn yellow and she will eat you! So these years were increasingly miserable and hard to bear. 

Artemis was her saving grace. Artemis was a boy about nineteen or twenty years of age when the Princess returned from her voyage. He was assigned the duty of “looking after and protecting” Rosa Evangeline when she arrived, by order of the Princess. He became her closest companion and friend. He was intelligent, and kind, and had a knack for languages. As he helped Rosa with Common, she taught him as much of the Tabaxi language as she could, and they were able to communicate in secret. The two of them were inseparable after only a few weeks. Rosa was grateful the Princess adored Artemis, because she often fired and hired staff on a whim, but Artemis was a constant. When that white-hot, violent rage swelled inside her, he would wrap his arms around her and stroke her hair and say soothing things until she calmed down. 

One night, after her mother had far too much to drink at dinner, she turned to Artemis and said, “Darling, I love you like you are my own. Were you not ten years my daughter’s senior, I would have announce your betrothal to each other weeks ago.” Artemis laughed easily, looked over at Rosa and winked. It was their private joke, considering they were the same age, but Rosa’s heart soared that night he smiled at her. 

One evening, as they were walking along in the garden, she blurted out, “Artemis, what if we just ran away?”

“Hmm?” 

“I’m serious.” she whispered. 

Artemis sighed and sat down in the grass. “Ro, we’d be killed. Captured, tried for treason, and hanged.” He murmured. 

She said nothing for a few minutes. 

“Well, then, just pretend. What would we do? If we could, you know, leave?” 

He considered it. 

“I think I’d like to study magic.” He smiled and plucked at some grass. “We could… go to a big city. Or somewhere near the sea. I could study as a wizard’s apprentice! And— well—” he blushed a deep scarlet color. Ro looked at him curiously. She hadn’t seen him get really flustered before. He cleared his throat. 

“Well, if we weren’t here, and if you didn’t have to pretend to be an eleven instead of twenty-five—’ he chuckled, then sighed. “Nevermind. As long as the princess lives, there’s nothing we can do about our situation, Ro.” 

Just then, a group of gardeners and manservants gathered near where they were seated and began working. Artemis stood up and brushed the grass from his clothes. “I’ll meet you inside, Your Highness” he said cheerfully. But before he turned away he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead in one quick innocent kiss. 

Ro just stood there in the garden for a few moments. The bitterness of their situation slowly began to creep into her thoughts and she felt hateful and angry towards the Princess. Heated whispers and shushing caught her ear. She realized that the men she assumed were gardeners had gathered and were hotly discussing something. She crept quietly closer to eavesdrop. 

“If we’re found out—“

“We won’t be! She can’t stop all of us!”

“I still think it’s possible to have a coup d’état without  _ murder _ !” 

“Assassination of an unfit ruler is not murder, it is a necessary evil. We will be killed if the Princess isn’t! She either rules or dies, and I for one would prefer the latter!”

“Quiet!” “Keep your voice down, man!” 

Ro crept silently away from the men, her mind reeling. Someone was planning to assassinate the Princess? Her first instinct was to tell someone, but she hesitated. If the Princess died— she could be free. Could she really just allow this to happen? Anger at her surrogate mother filled her, and she swore to herself she would keep the coup d’état a secret. 

**Part Four: Ro **

A few nights later, Ro is preparing for bed when the sound of smashing glass and shouting voices are heard echoing down the hall. A mob with torches had gathered outside the manor gates. Ro leapt up, gathered some things into a haversack and took off running for the garden. The house was in chaos— servants and courtiers alike were running, screaming— some loyal soldiers battled the rebels in the halls. Ro forced herself to look away from the dead, a bit of guilt creeping up her spine. She squeezed through a broken door, bare feet slipping on the wet early morning grass and she stumbled towards the back gate. 

An explosion tore through the night, sending Ro flying. She looked up to see the entire northeast of the manor crumbling and in flames. Ro swore under her breath— that’s where her room (as well as the Princess) had been. 

Ro made her way through the city streets, hardly feeling the cold in her pink nightdress and bare feet. She hadn’t been outside the manor hardly at all, and awkwardly tried to find Artemis’ house just based on what he had described to her. It took her a few hours of just combing the streets before finding the home with his family name on the door. After the explosion, things had calmed down a bit, but a light was on in the house. 

Ro knocked. Artemis’ uncle, an old man whom he lived with, opened the door, and upon seeing Ro, pulled her into a crushing hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe, dear.” “Thank you— where’s Artemis? Is he here?” The old man pulled back, a look of surprise on his face. Ro noticed his eyes were red and watery. Dread began to seep into her stomach. 

“Did something happen? Tell me!”

The old man exhaled slowly. “Ro— as soon as the commotion started, he took off for the castle. He was worried— he thought you might be in danger.’

Ro just stared at him. 

‘They found— h-his body— what was left of it—” the old man broke down, collapsing into a chair with his face in his hands. 

Ro stood there, frozen.

_ “So you just use this needle and some ink, and it stays on your skin? Permanently?” _

_ “Yeah, pretty much!”  _

White-hot anger bubbled up from her stomach.

_ “Ok, tell me if the scratching hurts too much and I’ll stop, ok?” _

_ “Ha! Gods, Artemis, I think I’m tough enough to withstand a little scratching from a needle.”  _

Her vision blurred. 

She couldn’t feel herself breathing. 

_ “Done! An ‘A’. With a branch— to remind you to keep your feet on the ground.” He winked, and she shoved him playfully.  _

A silent scream filled her chest as she poured her pain on the world.

_ “Alright, it’s not as pretty as yours. But I did my best— an “R”, with the moon and stars.” _

_ “For my girl who’s always looking to the sky.” _

_ “Do you like it?” _

_ “I love it. Thank you, Ro.”  _


End file.
